SaintLexus

iTrader: (4)

Hello,

Coming from the sportier side of Lexus to now, an SUV.

I can't seem to find a private seller at least in the western side of the States.

As the title says, looking for an LX for our newborn son.

If anything, I'm also considering Benz's SUV line up. But, I still prefer the reliability of Lexus'.

SL
(Second gen. Will be ok as long as it is in mint condition)

tlhicks

message me.

Airbusdriv

Stay away from the Benz if you want to put that son through college. I came over to the LX from a Benz GL. Benz was the worst piece of garbage I ever owned. Resell value when I got rid of it was an absolute joke. Spent well over $10,000 the last 2 years of ownership on repairs. On top of that, the Benz eats up tires and brakes like crazy. You’ve been warned.

hankinid

Toyota only imported 7000 200-series trucks to the North American market in 2015...the most recent I have data for. You could expect less in preceding years. Contrast that with about 80K 4Runners and you'll see why finding a clean truck with maintenance records is not too easy. I found our LX in Bend, OR and picked it up there thanks to a ride from a neighbor who was heading for his cabin in the area. I bought the '13 Land Cruiser the second day it hit online classifieds. Called the dealer the first day and negotiated price. Caught a flight next morning from BOI to Spokane. Dealer picked me up, I test drive the LC for about 2 hours, checked maintenance records, and picked up a bank check. Signed the paperwork and drove her home. A long day but worth it. Lots of 200 and 100 series available in the Pacific northwest, Reno / Tahoe, and the SF bay area.

Be very afraid of a used one that lived on the east coast or rust belt.

Prior to finding both trucks, I checked online ads on 4-5 used car sites at least twice a day. When you find the one that you know will work for you, don't screw around too much thinking about it.


MBZ tends to keep the rep of hand-made machines they earned in the 50s and 60s. That is definitely not the current reality. If the truck will be driven primarily by your SO with newborn, I'd say you're thinking of bulletproof reliability. You'll get that with an LX or Land Cruiser. Euro trucks, not so much. Jeep, bottom of the barrel.

Congratulations and blessings to you guys on the new baby. Build your nap credits now while you can.

DocT

There is one guy here would definitely disagree you. He always claims LX is outdated and dinosaur and he prefers to own Range Rover or Jeep. But the problem is he never owes any of them, LOL.

andreasP

I was in Florida last week and rented a GLS 450 from Sixt and the only thing I liked about it was the trunk space and fuel economy. The V6 really doesn't belong in an SUV. The ride was too soft, brakes were really weak as it took me 2 days until I learnt that I needed to floor the brakes for it to stop, and the major issue was it didn't feel or drive like a luxury car.

amphibia

The 5.7 3UR-FE engine, the 4.6 1UR, and the 4.0 1GR engines are actually the most advanced NA engines for SUV/trucks. They all come with 4 valves per cylinder, dual vvt-i timing, self adjusting hydraulic valve lifters, and timing chains instead of timing belts.

The only so called high tech missing on these engines is the "gasoline direct injection". But 10 years after European cars experiment with GDI, we now know it is just a carbon sludge magnet, especially on the intake ports and intake valves, essentially choking the engine. It is caused by not having gasoline washing the ports and intake valves. It is a failure not addressed or publicized until the new generation 8AR 2.0T engine with the two sets of fuel injectors came to market in 2014-15, made by Toyota/lexus. It is also available on the 3.5T engine for the new Lexus LS500. Basically one set of injectors sit in ports and another set sit in the cylinder. Now you get the performance gain but without the carbon buildup

SaintLexus

iTrader: (4)

I currently am leasing a GL450 Benz. It'll be up pretty soon. I have had my share of Benzs and also have previously owned Lexus so I know that the reliability is incomparable. The worse, I've experienced with a certain benz model was the driver side window keeps rolling down on its own and had brought the car to the dealer so many times and it took them a while to figure out the source of the problem and that's after 4 trips to the dealer.
I also mentioned considering a Benz. But this time buying it versus leasing for practicality.

Anyhow, I'm also considering a Tundra and I thought the wifey was ok with it at first. But now she's telling me she doesn't really want a truck.

American model hasn't really crossed my mind at all nor a Range Rover or a Land Rover. They are nice. But for some reason I can't seem to like them.

So going back to the topic. I'm now on a hunt.

P.s.
Sleep deprivation is real.... lol

hankinid

In Texas we'd say "all hat, no herd". I've added the guy to my ignore list here...he'd have been banned on mud after a few posts.


In my experience with 3 boys, espresso was required up to around 2-1/2 to 3 years old. Then you can coast until the dating and the drivers license and the raging hormones begin. In my case the good news was hearing "ya' know Dad, when you told me about ***add a topic here*** you were right-on". That happened between 18 and 22 years of age for my 3 guys.

Steve

SaintLexus

iTrader: (4)

I wonder, any of them own a Lexus?!? Let's see how well you really did!

BTW... had to edit my initial post

hankinid

I continue to try to do better.

Oldest drives a company truck (F350, diesel, 4wd, and on and on). He works for a large paving company and is their liaison with state and fed EPAs. New truck every 2 years, no gas bill, etc.

Middle guy is the speed demon...main transportation is a Hayabusa, car is an Audi (I know...) that is a bit of a shop queen. We did the timing belt 3 months ago and you begin by removing the entire front grill and bumper assembly.

Youngest married a Swedish lady. Father-in-law typically exports 5-6 Volvos each year from Sweden to the U.S. I doubt he'll change in the short term as he's got the 2-door sport wagon on order now with an eta in the spring if fit finds a good one.

I'm hitting 0 for 3.

JMan604

I've recently been reading this subforum just last week and I already know who you're talking about. I'm surprised he hasn't posted yet. Probably eating dinner alone and watching his netflix episodes alone. Sad life.



I've looked at the current used prices on autotrader and they're comparable to brand new discounted 2017's. The norm that I've seen is a fully loaded $99,xxx selling for $87,xxx. The lowest I've seen is a black on black with 1000 miles (probably demo or manager's car) which is selling for $83,xxx near me. You can drive down to SoCal and I'm pretty sure these guys will negotiate with you to get rid of it.

SaintLexus

iTrader: (4)

That's hilarious! It was actually more of a rhetorical question. Well, regardless, it still sounds like you guys have raised and still raising them well.

Brand new vehicles, most of the time is a better option, but I think the time is ticking and 3rd gen. will surely be replaced by a newer model. So if I were to buy a brand new LX at this time then here comes the new one, I might have this thing called the "buyer's remorse." But then again, being reasonable here, I have no reservations buying a used Lexus as long as I can see some solid history. European cars, well, it's questionable and debatable!

Anyways, after owning several Benzs, once the warranty expires and regardless how you maintain the car, but if something goes out, the cost to have it repaired is and will be costly whether you bring it to a 3rd party repair shops. Needless to say, I can still say the same thing for the Lexus, the only difference is, you have to abuse and misuse your Lexus before something goes bad and/or they don't go down south as easily if one is to compare it to its competitors.

SaintLexus

iTrader: (4)

Saw your overhaul thread. It says a lot about you! You know your stuff. Well, you all do ladies and gents!

lexusrus

Stay away from MB SUV's UNLESS YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE THE NAME "Mercedes Benz". Unless you get the "AMG" versions/variants, these MB are no longer made in Germany. They are made is Tuscaloosa AL. Nothing against USA made vehicles. But if I'm gonna spend all that money for a "Benz", at least might as well get one "Made in Germany or somewhere nearby, Austria".

Also you will need LOTS of patience and FUNDS to cover any repairs (warranty or not). Don't even think about keeping it AFTER warranty UNLESS YOU ARE A MECHANIC (even then, it will cost you BOTH time and money AND patience). In this situation, it better be a short term lease so you are able to return that piece of chunk of metal BACK TO THE MB DEALERSHIP and be done with it.

I do currently own an MB AMG hardtop convertible. But I have a guy who can fix things for me. One thing different on this AMG vs other models of AMG is that this model AMG is NA (NOT FI) and does not have "air suspension like it's big brother, the SL model). So far (knock on wood), I didn't have to do a whole lot EXCEPT oil changes and tires/brakes. BTW, it eats up tires and brakes like there is no tomorrow.

I would go for the LX570 instead of the MB GL's simply on reliability alone is enough for me. The LX570 is made in Japan whereas the MB GL is made Tuscaloosa AL (EXCEPT the AMG variants which are made in Germany/Austria).